John Edwards trial verdict watch: Day 8

5/30/12 8:09 AM EDT

GREENSBORO, N.C.—Day 8 of jury deliberations at former Sen. John Edwards's trial on campaign finance-related charges came and went Wednesday without any verdicts being delivered.

A secret jury-related issue took substantial time and attention from the lawyers and U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles, who convened two closed-door court sessions on the subject Wednesday. One before lunch lasted about 10 minutes. Another lasting about 35 minutes came just before the jury of eight men and four women quit for the day.

Eagles has been tight-lipped about the issue, not revealing whether it's a family emergency, a scheduling conflict or a grievance about the deliberations. She did confirm that the discussions related to a note submitted by a regular juror, not an alternate.

Under federal court rules, the jury can continue to deliberate with only 11 members if one the judge determines there's good cause to excuse one juror from service. If the number were to drop below 11, the judge would have to tap one or more alternates.

Wednesday was the jury's longest day of deliberations yet, though it was far from a marathon session: jurors were instructed to begin work at 9:15 A.M. and continue until 4:45 P.M.

Eagles extended the jury's work day by a half hour Wednesday and Thursday because some jurors have events coming up like high school graduations (presumably of family members).

Eagles displayed her first public flash of impatience with the wait on Tuesday, jokingly suggesting the jury had a verdict when panel had simply asked to leave about 15 minutes earlier than usual. (Read more about that here.)

The jurors, whose names and addresses aren't public at this juncture, can be drawn from much of central North Carolina. The Middle District (or as Jon Stewart would say, the "fighting Middle") includes the major cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Durham. A map on the court website indicates that the district's most distant county from Greensboro is Scotland County on the South Carolina border. It takes about two hours to drive from there to Greensboro.

While the jury is not sequestered, some jurors are staying at a hotel during the week, at government expense. Counting the jury selection phase, Edwards's trial is in its seventh week.

UPDATE: This post has been updated with Wednesday's developments and the completion of an eighth day of deliberations without reported verdicts.